At The Beginning
by xblissfuloblivion
Summary: What if they knew each other long before County General, Chicago? What if their friendship had begun long before they became roomies? RayNeela fanfic. Complete AU.
1. Home Sweet Home

**Title:** At the Beginning

**Rating:** FRT

**Disclaimer:** You know the drill, I don't own anything.

**Summary:** What if they knew each other long before County General, Chicago? What if their friendship had begun long before they became roomies? Reela fanfic. Complete AU.

_**Author's Note:**__ I know __**Leven**__ has just started a story like this on Ray and Neela in high school but I've always wanted to do one and this is not at all like hers. It is set in Baton Rouge and Neela and Ray are both around 16 years old. Also I know some people are waiting on me to continue with the other multi-chapter stories I have going and I'm really sorry but I'm on __major __writer's block with them. You may notice some hints to AWTR and BILB in this chapter but there very, very slight. Eg. Ray's car is the same as the one Landon drove in AWTR and Neela loves playing soccer like Jess in BILB. They're quite subtle though :P _

_Anyway enough of me talking. On with the story. _: )

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**Chapter 1: Home Sweet Home**

16 year old Neela Rasgotra pushed open her window curtain as she felt the plane beginning to descend.

"We ask you to please fasten your seatbelts; we will be arriving in Baton Rouge shortly." said the flight attendant in her overly cheesy voice.

She felt the grip on her hand tighten and she glanced up at her mother's eyes which were tightly squeezed shut. She smiled silently; she knew how much the older woman hated flying and had been dreading this day since Ajay Rasgotra had first announced that his company were transferring him to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Or in other words _America._

She, herself had not felt that much excitement after the news had been broken. After all she had grown up in England. It was her home. All her family and friends were there not to mention she was in the middle of completing her senior year. But Ajay had firmly stated and to quote; _'Unless we want to have this family broken up and all in different parts of the world __this__ is the only option.' _So she, her mother and her brother had to grudgingly agree.

She felt a slight bump as the plane touched down smoothly on the runway.

"Ladies and gentleman, we have reached our destination, the temperature in Baton Rouge is a warm 32 degrees centigrade. Please have your boarding cards with you and not to forget to take any important valuables behind. We thank you for flying British Airways. We hope to see you soon. Enjoy your stay and we wish you a safe journey ahead." The flight attendant returned in her nauseously sweet voice.

"Welcome to your new home." her father stated from next to her mother. _Yeah, right, home._

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"Well, this is it." Ajay said pulling up in front of the massive two storey house.

"Not to shabby, aye?" he asked.

"It's nice." Neela replied tightly as she opened her car door. _But it's not home._

"Gimme the keys, ma." Her overly rambunctious younger brother stated jumping out of the car. She watched as Jaya handed him the keys and as he flew up the path. She didn't get it. Back in England he had thrown tantrum after tantrum about coming here and now he was on cloud nine. But after all he was like their father, always ready for a new adventure.

--------

Neela was silent as she worked on putting her trophies and pictures of family and friends back in England, doing her best to make her new room feel _homey._

"Hey, Neela, you wanna go and kick the ball around?" Ajeet _- her brother –_ asked nodding his head in the direction of the field opposite her bedroom window.

She sighed.

"Yeah, sure why not." She replied following him down the stairs.

"Mum, we're going out to play some soccer." Neela called as they headed outside.

"I don't know why we even bother playing; I mean we all know I'm going to kick your ass." Neela teased as they reached the field.

"_Neela_! How could you! I always thought of you as the modest type." Ajeet said pretending to look hurt.

"Your sense of humour just kills me." she told him sarcastically.

"Well thank you. I do try." he said with a mock bow.

"Okay, quite stalling, chicken legs and let's play." she retorted.

Within minutes they had a game going. Neela – 7 Ajeet – 2.

"Care to please repeat the score?" Neela asked sticking her tongue out at him.

She was distracted as a bright orange car puttered down the street and parked in front of the house next door to hers. She became even more distracted as a guy roughly around her age got out. He had dark brown hair, was lanky and from where she stood he looked quite tall. She was so caught up in staring at him that she kicked the ball in the wrong direction and it rebounded off the street and hit the guy in question square in the back. _Whoops._

"Sorry!" she called darting across the street as he whirled around.

He picked the ball up.

"It's S'OK. Though you might wanna practice on your aim a bit more." he smirked. "You new around here? Haven't seen you around before."

She nodded.

"Yeah, I'm Neela Rasgotra, that's my brother Ajeet, we just moved in next door."

He was silent for a minute, looking her up and down as if taking her in, before he spoke again.

"The name's Barnett. Ray Barnett."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"You practising to be the next James Bond?"

He frowned.

"Huh?"

"You know the whole 'the name's Bond. James Bond – don't mind me, I ramble a lot." she said quickly.

This time he cracked a smile.

"Funny."

"Oi, Neela!" she heard Ajeet calling.

She spun around.

"Yeah?"

"What are you waiting for? The turn of the century?" he asked.

She glared at him.

"Ha-ha. Hilarious."

She turned back to Ray.

"Well I better go. I'll see you around I guess, nice meeting you, Ray Barnett." she said with a smile as she jogged back to her brother.

"Yeah. Likewise."

"Who was that?" Ajeet asked.

"He lives next door. His name's Ray Barnett."

"Well he looks like a dick." he stated.

"_Ajeet_!" Neela exclaimed.

"What!?! Can you blame me for saying? He pretty much looks like the standard description for dick." Ajeet said shrugging his shoulders.

"You should never judge a book by its cover." Neela scolded.

"Yeah and _you_ should never start talking like mum." he retorted.

"Whatever. Let's go inside, dinner's probably ready." Neela told him.

As she followed her brother inside, she couldn't help but cast one more look in the direction of the Barnett house.

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_What do you think?_

_Reviews would really be appreciated!_


	2. The 'New' Girl' and The 'Bad' Boy

**Disclaimer:** As before. I don't own anything.

_**Author's Note:**__ Thank you so much for all the reviews. You know how much I love em. :) I'm glad you all liked the first chapter cause I was a bit weary about posting it! And as for the high school in this chapter I was watching Whatever It Takes today lol. Hope you enjoy it!_

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**Chapter 2: The 'New' Girl and The 'Bad' Boy**

"Thanks for the lift, Dad." Neela said as she jumped out of the car.

"Sure you don't want me to come in with you?" Ajay asked.

"Yeah, right." Neela replied sarcastically giving him one last wave before she began making her way across the street to Gilmore High School.

"Have fun." She briefly heard him calling. _Yeah, as if that was going to be possible._

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Neela sighed as she made her way down the hallway to her English class. '_Room 15 that should be right about here.' _she thought stopping in front of a room. _Bingo._ _So far, so good. _She entered the half full room and took a seat at an empty table as the teacher entered.

"Morning, class. We're starting a new novel today, Kathy please hand out these books, and everyone begin reading from chapter one." he instructed quickly.

She had just been handed her book when the door swung open.

"Mr Barnett, Mr Turner, how nice of you both to actually join us _for a change_." the teacher stated with hints of sarcasm in his voice.

"Yeah. Our pleasure." Ray said with a smirk as he and his friend moved to sit at the table behind where she was sitting, his eyes briefly pausing on her as he walked past.

She smiled slowly at him before glancing down at her book after a couple minutes though she felt something wet and sticky land on her neck. In other words _gum_. Disgustedly she quickly wiped it off; she turned around in the direction from where it came from. Ray had that smirk _- that she was now beginning to see as a seemingly permanent feature on his face -_ and his friend was laughing his ass of at her.

"Whoops. _So_ sorry." his friend said innocently.

"_Really_ mature." she hissed before turning around again. Within seconds another piece of gum was attached to her neck. She turned back around to glare at them.

"Okay, this is getting really old. What are you five year olds?" she hissed again.

"It slipped again." The guy retorted in his overly cocky voice.

"You know as much as I know you probably love picking on the 'new kids' whenever the come to a new school just so you can keep your 'bad boy' rep going you may want to try hmm…I don't know maybe advancing your so called 'bullying skills' because right now you're pulling off the oldest and not to mention _lamest_ tricks in the book." Neela muttered angrily staring a moment at their shocked faces _- it was as if no one had ever told them off before - _before turning back around. Luckily this time they seemed to get the message and stopped bothering her.

As the bell rang for second period she couldn't help but think her brother was right. 'Dick' was a really see-through package.

--------

Neela glanced up from her book in the library at the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"You mind if I sit here?" the boy asked.

She smiled.

"Yeah, sure."

He flashed a relieved smile at her before quickly sitting down.

"Are you new here?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Yeah, I'm Neela Rasgotra."

"Thought so. I'm Carter Woodman."

She smiled again. Relieved to have someone actually noticing her today.

"Are you new as well?" she asked.

He shook his head glumly.

"No. I've been here a while. But in Jason Turner's words _'I'm just an 'A' class loner'._"

Neela frowned.

"Jason Turner…Tall, stocky, blonde hair, cocky as hell voice?"

"Yup, I guess you've already had the pleasure of meeting him already?" Carter asked.

"Unfortunately." Neela grimaced.

"Though you can't say anything bad about him after all his mother's principal of the school and nobody dare say anything about her '_little angel'._"Carter proclaimed.

"You're joking…"

"I wish…"

"What about Ray Barnett?" Neela asked nonchalantly.

Carter snorted.

"He's Jason's best buddy, when he's by himself he's alright but when he teams up with Jason he's quite a high class wanker himself." Carter informed her.

"Oh…" Neela said quietly.

Carter frowned.

"Why'd ya ask?"

Neela sighed.

"He's my next door neighbour."

"_Lucky you_!" he said sarcastically.

"Yeah…"

"Hey, do you wanna go and grab some lunch from the cafeteria?" Carter asked.

"Yeah, okay." Neela said with a smile.

--------

"Wow!" Neela said as they stepped into the cafeteria taking in everyone sitting in their own separate groups.

"A little stereotype, aye?" she said with a raised eyebrow at Carter.

He sighed.

"Yeah, well, welcome to Gilmore."

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_I know Ray seems like a jerk here but don't worry that will all change or will it??... :P_

_Reviews would be love!_


	3. The Start of Something New?

**Disclaimer:** Like always. I don't own anything.

_Thanks again for all the reviews :)_

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Start of Something New?**

"What about that chick this morning, huh?" Jason said with a laugh as Ray pulled up in front of his house.

"Yeah…"

"Man, she's definitely something else and talk about getting _pissed_ off!" Jason snorted. "Well I'll see ya tomorrow, dude."

"Yeah…see ya" Ray replied. _Yeah, she really was something else._ As he spun the car around, he had already reached the conclusion that Neela Rasgotra was _definitely_ not like other girls at Gilmore. Not only did any other _guy_ let alone _a chick_ in the school ever stand up to Jason but they all _worshipped_ him like a freaking _god_. Sure everyone thought he was a dick but they were all scared shitless of his mum so they pretty much all did what he said. Yet something told him Neela most certainly wasn't going to be doing any worshipping anytime soon.

--------

"I'm home, Mum." he called as he entered the house.

"Hey sweetie, do you mind doing me a favour? Could you quickly pop down to the corner store and buying some blueberries for me?" Jacy Barnett asked.

"Blueberries?! Okayy, sure, I'll have a shower then go -" Ray began.

"Do you mind going now?" Jacy interrupted.

"Okayy, why?"

"Well I invited the new neighbours over for dinner and I'm making a quick blueberry cheesecake for dessert." Jacy informed him.

_New neighbours…that would mean…oh shit._ He didn't really want to deal with _her_ now, after all he wasn't going to be in her good books anymore...

Jacy stared confusedly at her son's paused facial expression.

"Ray, honey, milk, now!" she ordered clapping her hands in front of his face.

He blinked.

"Ohh…yeahh…" he drawled slowly turning back around in the direction of the front door.

Jacy watched her son's back retreating slowly out the door. He really puzzled her sometimes.

--------

Ray groaned as he heard the front door bell chime. He quickly threw a sweatshirt over his head and made his way out of the room.

"Make yourselves comfortable, dinner is almost ready, Ray – there you are. Meet the Rasgotra's." Jacy said.

Ray took in the older couple and the boy he had seen the other day, he tried his best not to make eye contact with Neela.

"Hello." he said politely.

Mrs Rasgotra smiled at him.

"Hello, Ray. I'm Jaya. This is my husband Ajay and my children Neela and Ajeet."

He nodded.

"Yeah, we met…the other day…"

The next couple of minutes mainly passed with small talk directed mainly by Mr and Mrs Rasgotra before his mother finally announced _– much to his and Neela's delight –_ that dinner was ready. _Thank god._

"So Neela, what year are you in at school?" Jacy asked. "You look about Ray's age."

Neela glanced up from her plate.

"Umm…yeah, I think we're in a couple of the same classes." she replied shooting a subtle cold stare in Ray's direction.

Jacy nodded and the rest of the meal passed on, everyone oblivious to the tension at the table.

"I'll do the dishes." Neela volunteered quickly as Jacy stood up to collect the plates.

"Of course not, you're a guest!" she argued.

"No, its fine, the least I could do." she replied.

"Alright…thank you, honey." the older woman said with a smile. "But Ray, you can at least give her a hand." Jacy ordered.

"No, its fine, Mrs Barnett -"

"But, Mum -"

Jacy glared at her son.

"No buts, Ray and Neela he _is_ going to help you!"

Both of them gave her defeated looks before making their way to the kitchen.

"I'll wash them, you can dry." Neela told him coldly.

Ray sighed. _He was going to have to say something…_

"Look, Neela, about what happened -" he began.

"Can you pass me that scrubber?" she interrupted.

He quickly handed her the scrubber before continuing.

"About what happened this -"

"Here!" she interrupted again thrusting a plate in his direction.

He suppressed a groan. Taking the plate from her before he tried. Yet again. _She wasn't making this easy._

"About what happened this morning at school -"

"Here!!" she said again this time more forcefully slamming another plate into his hands.

"Wow! You finally let me get more than 2 words out this time!" he said sarcastically.

She glared at him. _Stay calm, Barnett. You bought this on yourself…_

"Neela, I know you're mad -"

"You don't miss a thing."

"But Jason's always like that. He's an ass. An ass who loves to stir up trouble -"

"Then why are you his friend?"

"Well, after you get to know him he's alright…_I guess_…and I sorta of just tune off when he starts being idiot. And I don't know if you know but his mum is the principal and with my record I _gotta _stay on her good side."

"Okay, so you don't actually like him that much _but_ you laugh and encourage him when he bullies people _and_ you're using him. Wow, you sound like a _really_ good person as well." Neela retorted.

Ray frowned.

"Argh! Why are you like this?"

Neela furrowed her brow.

"Like what?"

"So freaking complex!" he said. "Can't we just forget about this and call a truce so something? I pulled a bit of a joke on you and you confused me beyond hell! I think we're pretty much even now!"

Neela stared at him with an unreadable expression on her face. _Oh god she's going to hit me…_before a smile broke out on her face. Within a couple of minutes she was in hysterics.

Ray stared at her in disbelief. _Oh great, now she's lost it!_

"What's so funny?"

Neela looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"You!" she gasped. _Okayy…_

"Ray, is everything alright in there?" Jacy called.

"Yeah, Mum." he called back. _I think…_

Finally after a couple of minutes she calmed down. After she had caught her breathe she turned to face his beyond puzzled face.

She nodded.

"Okay."

He stared at her.

"Okay, what?"

"Okay, you convinced me, I'll forgive you, we're even." she told him.

He grinned.

"Okay, so we're…friends?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"Not yet…we're more like…acquaintances…"

He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Okayy, we're acquaintances..."

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_lol, what did you think?_

_Reviews would be love!_


	4. Study Partners

**Disclaimer:** Same as before. I don't own anything.

_Thanks again for the reviews, I really appreciate them, remember the more the reviews, the sooner I update the next chapter. And I'm sorry I know this chapter is quite shorter than all the rest..._

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**Chapter 4: Study Partners**

"You're joking!" Carter exclaimed. "Ray Barnett!"

Neela nodded.

"How? Why?" Carter asked.

"Well his mum invited us over for dinner last night and we got to talking…you're right he is much better when he's by himself." Neela said.

"Yeah, I know I'm right but I didn't mean to go and become best friends with him!"

"We're not best friends, we're not even friends…we're acquaintances…" Neela corrected.

Carter looked at her like she'd grown a second head.

"You're _acquaintances_?! Neela, I don't – Well, speak of the devil…" Carter groaned with a nod in the direction of where Ray was approaching them.

"Hey, Neela." he said as he reached him.

Neela raised an eyebrow at him.

"You're talking to me at school, Ray, wouldn't that ruin you're reputation?"

"Ha-ha." he said then frowned when he finally noticed Carter hovering next to her. "Are you hanging with him?"

Neela frowned back at him.

"You have a problem with Carter, Ray?" she asked.

"Ah…no…"

"Good." Neela said taking a bite of her sandwich. "Because I'd really hate to think that."

"Yeah…" Ray said shifting from foot to foot.

Neela glanced up at him.

"Is there something you wanted, Ray?" she asked.

"Huh? No. Can't I just say hello?" he asked.

"Yeah…I guess…" Neela said.

"Okay, well I guess I'll go now. See ya, Neela, later, Carter." he said before striding quickly away.

Neela watched his back until it disappeared around the corner. _Right, that was weird…_

Carter took a seat next to her.

"Okayy, well that was odd…"

--------

_You're pathetic, Barnett. _He thought mentally kicking himself. He had just acted like a complete loser in front of her. Normally with any girl he was able to come up with some sort of remark or comment no matter what the situation was but with her it was like he some how went brain dead. Why the hell had he even opted to go and talk to her in the first place? There was no apparent reason behind it and all he'd done was make himself look like an idiot in front of her. _I mean we're cool now I don't have anything more…so what on earth had possessed me to go up to her? _

He groaned as the bell sounded for the end of lunch. He caught sight of Neela walking into his next class. _Hmmm…_ suddenly he felt the urge to make an appearance.

--------

"Mr Barnett, you're _actually_ joining us?" Ms Fisher _– the history teacher –_ asked in awe as Ray walked through the door.

Ray smirked. He never got tired of seeing their reactions when he _actually_ chose to go to class. He surveyed the room until his gaze landed on the table Neela was sitting at before moving to the empty chair beside her.

"We're beginning a new assignment today, you _all_ have to be working with a partner and I'm in a good mood today so I'll let you decide who it is…" the teacher began.

"Hey, Neela." he said as he sat down.

Neela looked at him in disbelief.

"Have you been hit on the head or something? I told you yesterday we're alright now. You don't have to be all 'pally'with me now, okay? We're cool."

Ray frowned.

"Hey, can't I just talk to you?"

Neela frowned.

"Why? Like I said before, wouldn't that ruin you're reputation?"

"I don't really give a damn about my reputation, anymore." he said with a shrug.

A slow smile spread across Neela's face.

"Okay then, well in that case, care to be my study partner?"

Ray grinned.

"Why, I thought you'd never ask."

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_As always, please review :) _


	5. A Little Heart to Heart

**Disclaimer:** Don't own anything.

_**Author's Note:**__ Hee, thanks again for all the reviews, I'm so glad that you're all enjoying this story because I really am having a fun time writing it. I had some free time today and this chapter just flowed down when I started writing it but don't expect such frequent updates as I haven't written anymore as yet. Also this chapter as you may note as you continue reading is a little more serious than all the rest but I'm quite pleased with how it came out so I really hope you enjoy it._

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**Chapter 5: A Little Heart to Heart**

"Okay, so it says here that – Bloody hell, Ray, you have the shortest concentration span of anyone I've ever met." Neela exclaimed annoyedly.

Ray quickly turned around from where his eyes had turned to look out the window with a guilty expression on his face.

"Sorry! It's just that we've been doing this assignment thingy for the past hour and I'm bored!" he whined.

"Well, I'm _so _sorry that I'm boring you, but this _'assignment thingy' _is due in two days so I can't help it if I want to get it over and done with! And also I would like to put in that we've had the past _week _to complete this _'assignment thingy'_ but we haven't even _started_ it because _somebody_ keeps making lame ass _excuses _about being 'busy'." Neela argued.

Ray glared at her.

"Well I'm _so_ sorry that I'm letting you down!"

"You're not letting me down, you're bloody letting yourself down!" Neela told him.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" he retorted.

"It means that you're aimless! It means that sure you maybe considered one of the 'popular' kids in school right now who are always on top of everything but what happens after all that, Ray, huh? What happens after high school? Don't you ever want to achieve something good in life? Something you can look back on and be proud off. Because - " Neela stopped clamping a hand over her mouth. _Whoops, she may have let off a little more steam then she intended too._

Ray stared at her, looking utterly taken back.

"Look, Ray, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say - " Neela began.

"You're right." Ray interrupted softly.

Neela looked at him shocked. She was expecting him to yell at her, tell her she was wrong, she had never thought in a million years that he would agree.

"No, Ray, I'm not right, I was just angry and - " she began again.

"No, Neela! Don't try taking it back now! I know what you said was a 100 percent true, _you _know what you said was a 100 percent true! I _do_ live my life with no meaning to it, I just go out everyday enjoying myself never thinking about the consequences it has to me when I grow up and even remotely try to become something. I'm fucking graduating school this year and I still don't have any plans! It's no secret! No one's expecting me to succeed in life, even my _own_ mother has no high expectations of me!" Ray told her, with as much emotion in his voice that Neela had ever heard before.

"Well then prove them all wrong." Neela said.

Ray looked at her with a frown.

"Huh?"

"I said prove them wrong. Go out there and accomplish something!" she said.

Ray shook his head.

"It's a bit to late for that, isn't it?" he said.

Neela frowned at him.

"It's never too late, Ray. You do anything that you want as long as you set your heart and soul to it."

"Wow…no one's ever done that to me before." Ray murmured.

"Done what?" Neela asked.

"Believed in me." Ray said.

Neela smiled.

"Well you better start getting used to it, Barnett."

Ray grinned.

"I guess I just might."

The smile disappeared from Neela's face as she went back to her serious tone.

"So what would you really want to be when you leave school?" she asked.

Ray shrugged.

"I dunno…apart from music the only other thing that I would want to be is a doc – don't worry that's just a stupid fantasy."

Neela shook her head.

"Don't say that, tell me!" she coaxed.

Ray sighed.

"Okay, don't laugh at me but I've also always wanted to be a…" he stopped but Neela gave him a look that told him to go on. "…A doctor…" he finished quietly waiting for her to laugh.

All he got was a huge smile mixed with a slightly exasperated look.

"Why the bloody hell should are you ashamed of that?!? That's a fantastic goal!" she said.

Ray shook his head.

"But it'll never happen, with my sort of report I'll never be able to get into medical school." He put in sadly.

"Ray! Please stop putting your self down! Self pity is not your strong suit! Remember what I said before, you can do _anything_ as long as you put you mind to it!" Neela exclaimed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right…so anyway, what about you?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"What do you want to be?"

"A surgeon." she said with no hesitation.

Ray chuckled.

"Well I see you already have everything planned out."

"I guess I do…but first I have to try and get into medical school as well." she said.

"That won't be too hard for you." Ray told her.

"Why?"

"I've known you for less than a month and you're already topping way past _everybody_ else in _every_ single subject!" Ray exclaimed.

Neela sighed.

"Yeah, well you can blame that on my father, to him every single Rasgotra family member has to succeed in whatever they attempt or else." she stated bitterly.

Ray noted her change in attitude.

"You're lucky though." he said.

Neela looked at him confusedly.

"Why?"

"That someone's always believed you can do it, I've never had that. I mean my mother loves me _to death _but I doubt that she's ever believed that I can make it small time let alone big." he told her.

"You never know, Ray, besides now you're chance to prove to her and to _everyone_ else what you're capable off." Neela told him. "...Well I better get going, dinner's probably ready and they're all probably waiting for me, I guess where going to have to put this assignment off, _yet again_." Neela said standing up.

"Yeah…" Ray said as he watched her walk to his door. "Hey, Neela." he called.

She turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks, _really_ thanks, I appreciated it _a lot_." he said with a smile.

"She grinned back at him.

"No problem, anytime."

As she walked out the door she couldn't help but feel like she'd really broken down a barrier and accomplished something.

* * *

_I hope you thought that came out okay. Not to over dramatic, I hope._

_Reviews like always, would be appreciated : )_


	6. Broken Headphones and A Party Invitation

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

**Author's Note:** Finally! I give you a new chapter, but it's really short though...Oh well...I promise this time, I'll update sooner. BTW thanks for the reviews again :)

* * *

**Chapter 6: Broken Headphones and a Party Invitation**

**2 months later**

Neela sighed as she slipped her music player's headphones over her ears, turning the music up loud, after the horrendously long maths lesson she had just had, she needed to go away from the real world for a while. _A__ really **long **__while._

"Neela! Hey! Wait up!" Ray called, breathlessly as he tried to catch up with her.

She mentally groaned. Luck was so not on her side today.

"Hey, didn't you hear me? I was calling out to you for ages." Ray told her.

"_Sorry!_ Didn't hear you. What do you want?" she asked, in an annoyed tone.

Ray raised his eyebrows.

"Whoa! A little _t__ouch – e_ today, aren't we? Your time of month, Neela?

Her eyes widened in horror.

_"I'll kill you!" _

She made a move to yank the headphones from her ears but in her frustration it ended in her snapping them in half, causing Ray to have a fit in laughter.

_"ARGH!"_ she yelled, stomping her feet on the ground. She glared at him, "Don't you dare laugh -" she abruptly broke off and a giggle like snort escaped from her mouth. Within seconds she joined him in hysterics. _'God! I seem to be laughing a lot lately.'_ Both were well aware of the odd gazes they were getting as people walked past them.

_"Ahem."_ a shadow sounded from above them. They both looked up to see Jason towering above them.

"Hey, Ray. Neela." he said, flickering his own odd gaze at them.

Hey, man." Ray said, finally recovering from laughing.

"Hey, Jason." Neela said.

"Well, now that the two of you have come out of being 'high' land, I was wondering if you're going to Mac's party tonight, Ray?" he said, "Neela, _whose quick wit I find enchanting_, can come too." He added with a smirk.

Neela glared at him.

"Oh, _ha – ha." _she told him, sarcastically. Even though she had warmed up to Jason over the past few months he still could be a real prick sometimes.

"Well, I'm up for it." Ray said, turning his gaze to Neela.

She sighed.

"I dunno..."

Ray pouted.

"Puh – leaze, Neela, for me?" he said, with a puppy face.

She laughed.

"Fine! How could I say no to a face like that." she said, sarcastically.

"Thank you." Ray said, happily. _A bit too happily._

"Well, I'll see you tonight then." Jason said casting Ray a curious look before leaving.

Neela shook her head at Ray.

"Ah, the things I do for you."

He grinned.

"It's cause you love me." _So true._

Before he could see her blush she retorted,

"No, it's because now you owe me _big_ time, like how now, you're giving me a lift home."

"Is that so?" Ray asked.

"Yep."

"Well, I should correct you, Miss Rasgotra, I was already planning on giving you a lift home." he said.

She raised her eyebrows.

"Really?"

"Mmmhmm."

"Well, in that case, now you owe me by convincing my father into actually _letting _me go tonight." she smirked.

Ray froze.

_'Oh, crap!'_

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What did ya think? 

Reviews would be love!


	7. You Like Her!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

**Author's Note: **The next chapter like I promised. :) Thanks to everybody who reviewed the last chapter, I appreciated it! Don't know when the next update will be though, might be sooner, might be later...depends on how the muses feel. ;)

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**Chapter 7:**** You Like Her!**

"I can't believe you convinced my father into letting me go!" Neela exclaimed as she got into Ray's car.

Ray gave her a smug look.

"Ah, what can I say? The man and I have a strong bond."

"Yeah, that's why he was scared shitless less than two hours ago." Carter scoffed from the backseat.

Ray sent him an evil look as Neela began laughing.

"_Carter!_ Don't say that! You'll wound his manly exterior." she chided with a grin.

"Oh, ha-ha, shut up or I'll kick the two of you outa my car." Ray retorted.

Neela smirked at him.

"Be my guest, after all _you're _the one who wanted me to come."

Ray glared at her. _Damn._

"Oh snap! Dude, she won that one." Carter snorted from the back.

Ray continued to glare at them as he started the car up.

--------

"Hey, man, glad you could make it," Jason said as he saw them entering, "Hello, Neela," he added sweetly, his eyes darkened as he saw Carter.

"Who invited the geek?"

"_I_ did! And he has a proper name." Ray retorted, in annoyance.

Jason shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay, whatever, sorry, Carter," he said, "drinks are over there," he told them, "Ray can I talk to you for a second?" he asked.

Ray nodded.

"Yeah, what?"

"Preferably, _alone._" he added.

Neela's eyes clouded.

"Okay, we get the drift, c'mon, Carter." she said, dragging him off in the direction of the drinks table.

Ray frowned at Jason.

"Listen, man, if this is about Carter, you have to ---"

"No, it's not about, Woodman." Jason interrupted.

"Then what's it about?" he asked, confused.

"Neela." Jason told him, straightly.

"What about her?"

"Dude, it's so obvious, I've seen the way you look at her..."

Ray gave him a baffled expression.

"What are you ---?"

"_You like her!_" Jason exclaimed.

Ray eyes widened.

_"No! I don't!"_

_"Yes__, you do!"_

_"No! I don't!"_

_"Yes, you do!"_

_"Shut up!"_

"C'mon, just admit it! You like Neela!" Jason exclaimed, loudly.

Ray glared him.

"Can you say it any louder? I don't think they heard you in France!" he hissed.

Jason smirked.

"So you admit it?"

"What!? _No!"_

"Whatever." Jason shrugged.

"Thank you!" Ray said.

"I still think you like her."

"Like whom?" a voice interrupted them from behind.

Ray's felt his eyes widened. _Shit, shit, shit._

"Oh ---" Jason began, cheekily. _Too cheekily_.

"Nobody! Just some girl _he_ likes." Ray interrupted.

_"Right!"_ Jason scoffed.

Neela guarded them both with an odd expression.

"Okkayy..." she drawled, slowly.

"C'mon, Neela, let's go get you a drink." Ray said.

"But I already had one." Neela protested.

"Well..." Ray said leading her away from Jason, "let's get you another one." he said, cheerfully.

"What the bloody hell's wrong with you?" Neela questioned, curiously.

"What? Can't I just be happy?"

"Ah, no!"

"And why is that?" he asked.

"Because it doesn't fit into your _image_."

"Hey! My image's changed a lot over the past few months."

"Yeah, but not this _much_."

"Ouch, that hurts."

Neela shook her head at him.

"Ray Barnett, you are a strange, strange boy."

Ray winked at her.

"Another reason why you love me."

"You wish!" _I do._

As he poured them each a coke he thought of what Jason said. How the hell could he have possibly noticed that he liked her? He instantly became worried, if someone as dense as Jason had noticed, Neela's bound to have. He glanced up at Neela looking for any telltale signs but she was looking oblivious, swaying gently to the music, her eyes lit up as the song changed.

"Oh, I love this song! Come on dance with me." she exclaimed.

"What! Ah, no, I can't dance." he exclaimed.

"C'mon, I've seen you secretly busting some moves," she laughed, "please?" she pouted. He felt himself melting, _Ah...sh__e was turning him into a softie!_

He let her drag him out into the centre of the room. Thank god, for him, it was a fast song.

He couldn't help but watch her mesmerized as she had a blast dancing with the music, bouncing care freely to it. He was distracted as he saw Jason watching him, shaking his head knowingly, a smug smile evident on his face.

He sent him a deadly gaze mentally telling him to back off. He returned it with a smirk before walking off.

"Ray? Did you hear me?" Neela asked.

"Huh? What?"

"I said check out Carter." Neela giggled.

Ray turned his head in the direction she was looking and laughed. Carter was doing some weird sort of dance moves in the middle of the floor. Looking like he was hoping to impress some girls but they unfortunately looked like they thought otherwise.

"Bustin' some nice moves there, Carter." Ray called, amused.

Carter returned this by giving him a not so nice sign.

"You're just jealous, Barnett, that you can't _par-tay_ like the _Woodman_."

Neela laughed.

"Well, it's obvious he's already had _way_ too much sugar."

--------

"Cya, Carter." Ray said as he pulled up in front of the Woodman residence.

"Mmmphh." Carter muttered as he groggily got out of the car.

"Not so jealous of you now, am I?" Ray snorted.

"Piss off."

"Yes, I had a good time too." Ray laughed.

"Don't be mean," Neela said, "Cya, Carter."

"Bye." came his flat reply.

Minutes later he pulled up in front of Neela's driveway.

"Well, thanks for the ride," she said, "and tonight wasn't too bad either."

_"Too bad?_ C'mon, admit it, you were having a blast." Ray said. "Probably had something to do with my divine company."

"You're never the noble one, are you?" Neela told him playfully, shaking her head.

"Never, ever." he replied, seriously.

He grinned cheekily at her.

"Oh, you!"

As they both stopped laughing, he was caught up is gazing into her eyes. _Her beautiful chocolate brown eyes. _

"Well..." Neela said, quickly, breaking the stare, "I better go, before my Dad sends out a search party."

He grinned.

"Yeah...Cya tomorrow." he said, hoping that his tone was light.

As he watched her walk into the house he mentally kicked himself, repeatedly. What was he thinking? Neela was his friend. _His best friend_. The closest he'd been to a girl since well..._ever _and he didn't want to ruin that, at all. Get a grip on yourself, man. _Quickly!_

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What did you think?

Please review :)


	8. First Fight

**Disclaimer:** As before.

**Author's Note:** Few things you need to know, I think they call half early exams in the US, midterms? but I just stuck with the Australian version of it and Seventeen Magazine was about the only American teenage girl magazine I know so borrowed that and the line that Ray reads from _'Veronica Mars'._ Also wow! Thanks you guys for all the reviews on the last chapter! Sorry for the little wait on me updating again but here it is without further ado, Chapter 8! Enjoy! BTW, a scene from this chapter may seem like a déjà vu of a certain scene from 12x17 'Lost in America'. ;)

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**Chapter 8: First Fight**

**2 weeks later**

_'Damn, damn, damn'_ Neela thought, annoyed as she tapped her pencil repeatedly on her desk. It was nearly the middle of the year and half early exams were just weeks away and just when she needed it she felt like her brain had completely gone on vacation. _Well, maybe if you don't spend so much time daydreaming of Ray you might actually be able to focus!__ Argh! Stupid school, stupid homework, stupid girly hormones, stupid bloody Ray!_It was true, she'd definitely noticed it. Her time with Ray was rapidly increasing and her time spent on her homework was rapidly decreasing. _That's it, time for some ---_

_Discipline.__ Argh!_

"Yes?"

Her door opened as Ajeet stuck his head in.

_"Oh, Neela! Ray's at the door!" _he chimed, in a singsong voice.

_Double argh!_

She let out a sigh.

"Let him come up." she told her brother. Okay, this was it, it was time to tell him that they needed to set some boundaries, set some limitations, if they wanted any hope of passing the exams they were going to have to take a break ---_Hang on a sec...__Whoa, whoa, whoa!_ This was beginning to sound like the many of the speeches her cousin had told her about breaking it off with _boyfriends_! Yes, _boyfriends_! Ray wasn't her boyfriend. He was her friend. _Her best friend_. Her best friend who she liked have not so '_just_ _friend__s' _daydreams about. _Crap, crap, crap_, this was ---

"Hey, Neela."

She glanced up startled, as Ray walked into her room.

"Uh...Hey."

He frowned at the odd tone in her voice.

"What's up with you?"

"Nothing, well actually..." she paused and watched as he flopped down onto to her bed and picked up one of the numerous magazines on her bedside table.

"Actually, what?" he prodded, flipping roughly through the pages.

"Umm...actually ---" she began but he interrupted.

_"Dear Seventeen, how do I tell the super cute boy in my class that I like him?" _he said in a high pitched girly voice.

"Ray!" she said, snatching the magazine from his hands.

"What?" he smirked, "besides what are you doing reading crap like this anyway?"

"It's not cra --- Okay, so it can be a little out there sometimes but still..." she stopped.

"Still, what?" he asked.

"Oh, bollocks! Why am I even having this conversation with you?" she sighed, defeated.

He grinned cheekily at her. "So? What were you going to tell me?" he asked, changing the topic.

"Oh, yeah...I've been thinking ---"

"Ohhh...sounds serious!"

"Shut up! I've been thinking that...maybe...maybe we should spend less time together, I mean with all exams coming up I've really, really got to focus on my stud ---" she rushed.

"Neela! Chill! Firstly, you are definitely not the one who should be worrying about the exams, _I should!_ And secondly, what the hell are you talking about? Us spending too much time together? I ---"

"Ray! _Firstly,_" she mimicked, "it doesn't matter what my grades are _at the moment_, what matters is how they're going to be when they bloody give me a test paper filled with things I have no clue about! And _secondly_, for the last bloody month I've been pulling all nighters to go to a party with you, to watch the horror movie marathon with you, to ---"

"Alright! Alright! I get the picture!" Ray exclaimed, abruptly.

"You know what you're a bad influence!" she told him, agitatedly.

Ray smirked.

"Well, thank you. But, seriously? Don't act like you haven't been enjoying all th ---"

"It doesn't bloody matter if I enjoyed myself or not, that sti ---"

"Neela! For fuck's sake! What's this _really_ about?"

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?" Neela asked, flustered.

"You know what I'm talking about. It's not like you to react like this! C'mon, Neel, what is it?"

_Shit, shit, shit__. How what was she supposed to say now? __I t__hink I have feelings for you? __Definitely__ not!_

"God, Ray! Nothing, okay? Why do guys always want an explanation for everything?" she asked, frustrated.

"Excuse me? Chicks are the ones who always want explanations for everything!" Ray retorted.

"What? Please! Guys ---" Neela began but Ray cut her off with a raise of his hand.

"Save it! Okay! Come talk to me when you're done being a girl!" he snapped and with a final flourish stormed out of her room.

"I am a girl!" she called, angrily to his retreating back.

_Bugger, bugger, bugger! Now things were really screwed!_

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So, what did you think? Lol, aww, they had they first _'sort of'_ fight, I decided I had to throw one in there, just to add a little bit of drama! 

Reviews would be appreciated. :)


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